Sorry For Running
by J.A.M.B
Summary: This is a what if story: Kovu and Kiara chose to run away from their prides after being forbidden to see each other. After a few day of living together on their own, Kovu is killed and leaves Kiara pregnant and alone. Kiara chooses to battle the world on her own and raise her cubs as rouges. But she will soon find that no matter what, she'll end up back home.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fans of TLK!**

**This is my first fanfic and I'm really hoping you'll enjoy it.**

**You know I've done some searching on Fanfic and on Deviant Art and I couldn't find a single fanfic about Kiara and Kovu running away when Kovu suggests it (but if I'm wrong please tells me). So I chose to write one, I've actually had this idea in my head for a while, don't know why it's taken me so long to finally write it down**.

Chapter One: A Pride All Our Own

"Hey look, we're one" Kovu said softly as he gestured towards their combined reflections that were shimmering in the water with his muzzle.

"What?" His golden companion said confusedly. She had heard that phrase somewhere, but where...

"Come on, let's get out of here!" He said excitedly as he sat up. Kiara stared up at him in confusion, was he asking her to leave? Leave her home? Her family?

"We'll run away together!" he exclaimed taking a jump away from her before sticking his front paws out and his rear in the air "and start a pride, all our own" the last part was almost a suggestive purr.

"Kovu..." Kiara said uncertainly, doubting whether she could really leave her life in the Pridelands behind. It was all she had ever known, where she had grown up. How could she leave it all behind?

"Kiara come on, we're finally together and if we leave, we can stay this way" he begged, he really wanted Kiara to see things his way. All he wanted was for them to be together and he knew they couldn't be together if they stayed here. Her father would never allow it.

The female took in a deep breath, she really wanted to be with Kovu but was running away the right way to go? Her mind was swirling with questions and doubts about the situation. Her head turned and she looked at Pride Rock, it had become a silhouette against the setting sky. She had been born there, was meant to rule there. If she walked away she would be giving that all up. Kiara then turned back and looked at Kovu, one look into his pleading emerald eyes and she was sold.

Yes leaving mean't leaving her home, kingdom and family. But she loved Kovu, and she would give up anything to be with him.

"Kovu I want us to be together" Kiara admitted

"So we'll leave, together?" He asked, mentally begging her to say yes.

"Yes"

And to Kovu, the whole world became a very wonderful place.

-TLK-

The ground was muddy from the rain that had been previously pouring from the dark grey sky. Vultures circled the area, waiting to feed on a carcass.

Below them two prides were battling. Pridelanders against Outlanders, one fighting for revenge and the glory of ruling the magnificent Pridelands. The other pride fighting in defence and because they refused to live in unity with the other pride.

The battle had gone on for hours but it had finally spiralled down to between the two leaders. Zira, leader of the Outlanders and forever faithful follower of Scar and Simba, the king of the Pridelands.

The two lions were surrounded by members of their own pride, trapped inside a circle where they would have to end this battle. Zira paced in front of Simba, trying to get him moving so they were circling each other. But Simba knew better than to turn his back on an Outsider. Finally, Zira's patience ran out and she lunged at Simba. The male saw her coming and raised his paw in attempted to swat her away. It worked, Simba's paw collided with Zira's shoulder and it was enough to push her away. Zira stumbled to the side and let out a furious growl when she saw that Simba's claws had ripped away at some of her shoulder flesh. She launched at him again, this time when he went to strike her away, she side stepped him. Simba ended up striking thin air and Zira ended up behind him.

Not willing to lose her opportunity, Zira leapt at Simba from behind. She landed on his back and the sudden weight made Simba lose his balance and fall over. Zira the began to rip at his neck with her fangs. Simba growled with pain and quickly pushed up his rump and Zira rolled off. When her weight was removed Simba tried to regain his composure but Zira didn't let him. The minute she was on all four paws she attacked him again.

Simba was fighting an up hill battle. Victory was practically impossible, mainly due to him being exhausted. During the whole battle Simba had been fighting with his pride, fighting beside them like a true king should. Zira on the other hand had been a coward and sat all high and mighty on top of her large boulder and let her lionesses fight him. He was tired and wounded. She had never been more alive and ready to kill.

Zira tackled Simba to the ground, around them the Pridelanders became tense, they knew if their king lost this battle they would all lose their lives. Zira raise her paw in the air to deliver a finishing blow when suddenly she felt Simba's hind legs push her in the stomach. Before she realised it, she had toppled over Simba.

Simba quickly got up and stood over her, Zira shuddered as it dawned on her, she had lost and was about to pay for it with her life. Simba raised his paw and with one quick smooth motion he sliced her throat with his claws. Thick crimson blood ran out of the gaping wounds and trickled down the fur of Zira's neck.

In her last moments of life, Zira thought of everything she had been through. She thought of her beloved Scar, she thought of what would happen to her beautiful daughter who had stuck by her through everything. She thought about her first born son, Nuka, just thinking about him filled her with anguish. He was her first born, her only son sired by Scar and she had neglected him. When Scar declared him too weak to be his heir, she did as well. Despite this, he had always tried so hard to make her happy. He tried more than any of her other cubs but she could never praise him for that because he wasn't good enough for Scar, so he wasn't good enough for her. She thought of Kovu, she thought of how she had stolen him as a cub from his dying mother and then presented him to Scar as his heir. Kovu was the only cub that wasn't her's, Nuka had been sired Scar, Victani by a random rouge and Kovu had been stolen.

As she lay dying she found herself grateful for many reasons. She was going to go be with her Scar again and Nuka. She was also grateful that Kovu wasn't her biological son, that made his betrayal less painful.

At long last Zira let go of her last breath and died.

The air around Zira's body was filled with silence. The Outsiders found themselves filled with fear, their leader was gone, what were they to do know?

"Get out of my Pridelands" growled Simba, his voice was hoarse and his body was shaking from exhaustion. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the muddy ground beneath him but he knew that would make him look weak in front of the enemy.

"Are you deaf? I said GET OUT!" He roared when he realised that the Outsiders hadn't moved. The Outsiders jumped back at the sound of his voice before they sprinted away. Simba watched them all head back to the Outlands, all except one.

Vitani.

"This isn't over Simba" she challenged "I will avenge my mother"

"And you will die like she did"

-TLK-

Meanwhile...

Kiara and Kovu had reached the boarder of the Pridelands, it had taken them longer to reach it than they thought it would due to the rain that had been pelting down. But the rain had ended now, the clouds were clearing up and the sun was beginning to shine."You ready?" Kovu asked as he looked at the giant Umbrella Tree that marked the edge of the Pridelands.

"As I'll ever be" Kiara responded, her voice held some excitement as well as some anxiety. Kovu heard the anxiousness in her voice and moved closer to her and nuzzled her cheek.

"Don't worry, as long as we're together, we'll be alright" he assured his mate. Kiara nodded and took her first step past the tree.

-TLK-

Slowly the exhausted Pridelanders returned to Pride Rock. Once they were inside their comfortable den most of the lionesses collapsed on the hard stone. The ones that still had strength began to lick clean their wounds but the more wounded and tired one just lay their, eyes heavy and breathing hard.

Simba entered the den last, he had been procrastinating the whole walk home. Zazu, his stooge, had not returned with any news about his daughter. She had disappeared before the battle and he knew it was to look for Kovu. He had hoped that she would be back in the den, safe at home. When he realised his 'baby' girl wasn't in the den he was filled with panic. His fear must have been seen because his mate quickly came to his side.

"Simba, what's wrong?" Asked Nala when she saw the concerned look on her mates face.

"It's Kiara, she-she isn't home..." He said, his voice filled with worry.

Despite Simba's concern, Nala found herself letting out a small chuckle while shaking her head. Simba had always been overprotective of their daughter, even when there was no reason to be. She knew today would be no different, she knew her daughter went out to look for Kovu but she doubted that she would find him. The rain would have washed away Kovu's scent and trail. Deep down, Nala knew that Kiara would come home and she would be alright.

"Simba, don't worry about Kiara, she'll be fine" Nala assured her mate

"How do you know that? You know what she's like Na-"

"Simba! Kiara is practically an adult, she can look after herself" snapped Nala

"So why isn't she home!?" He snapped back "I'm worried Nala, what if she doesn't come home?" He said softly.

Nala finally realised how concerned her mate was for their daughter and decided to take a different approach to comforting him.

"Kiara will come home, she went out looking for Kovu and she probably didn't find him because the rain washed away his scent" explained Nala "when she can't find him, she'll come home, she's probably on her way back now"

-TLK-

Vitani led her pride back into the giant termite mounds in the Outlands. These mounds had been her home forever, she had so many memories of her mother and brothers here. In a short amount of time, she had lost all of them thanks to Simba. He corrupted Kovu, murdered Nuka and her mother. The only thing that could give her peace was revenge on Simba but she wanted to take it further than what her mother had planned. Her mother planned to kill Simba and let his family suffer but Vitani had bigger plans.

She wouldn't kill Simba, at least not immediately, she would kill everything precious to him first so that he wanted to die, then she would make him live before bringing him to a slow and painful death. After all, the punishment should match the crime.

"Vitani..." Came a soft voice that made the young lioness turn her head so she was facing the speaker. A small sad smile formed in her face when she saw who it was.

"Hello Aunt Hakia" Vitani smiled at her aunt, her mother's twin sister. She look very similar to Zira except her muzzle wasn't as long as Zira's and her eyes were green.

"What are you thinking about my niece?" She asked, her voice gentle and soft.

"Mother" was all Vitani could say before she bursted into tears "S-Simba nee-ds to pa-pay for wh-what he d-did" she managed to choke out.

"I know darling, I know" assured Hakia as she gently rubbed her head against Vitani's back in an attempt to soothe her grieving heart "we'll get revenge, together"

-TLK-

Simba lay on the floor, his eyes were locked on the den entrance waiting for Kiara to come in. His mate was beside him cleaning his wounds. Zira hadn't done too much damage to him, she had tried to rip his throat out but thanks to his thick mane her fangs didn't hurt him much.

It had been hours since she had gone missing. She should be home by now, the only thing keeping him at Pride Rock was Nala. His mate had argued that Kiara was probably trying to find a safe way home since the rain could have flooded areas of the Pridelands. Also the fact that he was so exhausted that he could barely walk kept him in the cave.

Suddenly he heard wing beats.

Zazu!

Simba felt somewhat relieved, he knew Zazu wouldn't come home with out his daughter. But when he saw that Zazu returned alone his heart sank to very bottom of his stomach. And he realised something, his baby girl had found Kovu.

And she had left.

She really was gone.

**Wow, I wrote a lot more than I planned to.**

**I hope that you all liked it and that the first chapter was descriptive enough.**

**Please review I would appreciate some feed back, wether it be grammatical errors, how I can improve or really just what you like.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys I'm back! And as a bonus I've written chapter 2. Alright I won't ramble on here's chapter 2**

Chapter 2: Territory

It had been two weeks since Kovu and Kiara left their prides and abandoned their duties. And they couldn't be happier. So far their days had been nothing but running, playing and being affectionate to each other. Their life was wonderful, no rules, no restrictions and no responsibilities. But that was all about to change.

Kiara was pregnant.

She was only eight days along but both lions couldn't wait to be parents. Kovu wanted to have a boy but Kiara just didn't care as long as her cub was healthy. With a cub on the way Kovu had made it his mission to find a territory suitable for raising cubs.

He knew what he was looking for; territory with prey, shelter and a large water source. A large water source was a key feature he needed to look for. He knew they could survive days without food but certainly not without water, besides prey preferred to live in areas with water.

Not only had he become obsessed with finding the perfect territory, he had become ridiculously over protective of Kiara. And it was driving her insane. Thanks to Kovu, Kiara was not allowed to hunt, walk long distances or go anywhere/do anything by herself. Kovu always had to be at her side and when he went hunting he made Kiara keep hidden in a certain spot. For the lioness it was almost like being back a Pride Rock under her father's forever watchful gaze.

She missed her father, she missed him everyday since she left. She missed her mother as well, she missed everyone from her pride. Since the very day she left, Kiara had been feeling homesick. She missed sleeping in the large den with her parents and aunts, she missed how she always felt safe and relaxed with her pride. Ever since she left Kiara couldn't help but feel small and afraid of the big world around her. She wanted to go back but she couldn't. She felt that if she went home she would be rejected, treated like a traitor and an outcast.

-TLK-

Hakia sat on the very edge of the Outlands, gazing a the glorious view of the Pridelands. Everything there was perfect, they had more prey than they knew what to do with, more territory than they could use. To be a Pridelander meant to live a life of luxury. Hakia growled inwardly, the Pridelands were meant to belong to her sister not a murderer like Simba.

The lioness couldn't wait to get her revenge, nor could her niece who was out scouting in the Pridelands. Hakia had come up with what she thought was a brilliant plan to enact their revenge. But first she needed a bit more information. About Simba's little princess in particular.

Just then Hakia saw her niece jump over the small creek ditch that separated the Pridelands from the Outlands.

"Ah, my niece, do tell me you have some news for your dear aunt" purred Hakia.

Vitani sighed, she didn't get nearly as much information as she would have liked and the information that she did get about Kiara, wasn't very helpful.

"Kiara isn't in the Pridelands anymore" reported Vitani "rumours say she and Kovu have run away together. No one knows where they've gone"

"Interesting, any news about Simba?" asked Hakia, not at all seeming to be affected by the news Vitani presented.

"As far as I understand, Simba has recovered"

This was enough to set Hakia off, the older lioness let out a long and angry growl. She could careless about what happened to Kiara but to find that Simba being in good health riled her up.

"But I think he is suffering from his daughters disappearance" Vitani said quickly trying to calm her aunt down. It did work, a bit. Her aunt had stopped growling but was now pacing with a thoughtful look on her face.

"So, his little princess has gone missing, has she?" Sneered Hakia as she paced back and forth like a caged animal "how badly do you think it would affect Simba if she was dead"

-TLK-

_How much further_ thought Kiara as she travelled along side Kovu. They had been traveling for hours to a place that Kovu had deemed worthy of raising their cubs. It was the first time in eight days that Kiara had been able to travel a long distance without him fretting over her being in cub. In fact, Kovu was far to excited about the territory he discovered to worry about his mate. He had been rambling on for hours about this place, he was making it out to be some sort of paradise.

_It bloody better be_ she mentally muttered. Kiara wasn't used to walking such long distances, she had been raised in the Pridelands as a princess after all. Everything she need was only a few minutes away and if she was unsuccessful with a kill, the pride would hunt for her. She never really had to work hard for anything.

Then it hit her, she had never worked hard for anything! She was a princess and her father had made sure to treat her like one. Kiara then felt very small and insignificant, what had she ever earn't? When was the last time she had done anything independently? Never! She always had her pride to clean up after her. And now, she was about to become a mother.

How could she possibly be a good mother? She couldn't even hunt for herself, how would she be able to feed her cub?

Kiara was so deep in thought about her future motherhood that she didn't even notice that Kovu had stopped walking until she could no longer feel his presence beside her. When she realised he was no longer there she stopped and looked behind her.

"Kovu, what's wrong?" She asked her mate when she saw him standing behind her.

"I was about to ask you the same thing" he said with concern showing in his voice and eyes "you've been quite for a while"

"I'm just, just thinking about things" she said simply

"About what?" He asked walking closer to her so they were standing side by side "you know you can tell me anything"

"I know, I'm just worried. That's all" Kiara just couldn't tell him, she would feel weak telling him.

"About what" he pried "Kiara please tell me"

"I don't think I'll make a good mother" she said giving in "I mean I can't hunt, I can't fight, I can't do anything. And now I'm suppose to be someone's mother"

"True you can't do those things" Kovu admitted "but you can do other things our cub will need, you'll be loving, nurturing and kind. Those other things, I can do and you can learn them along the way"

Kiara smiled at her mate, he always knew how to make her happy, that's why she loved him so much.

"Now come on, we're almost there" he said gently as he nuzzled her.

"This territory had better be some paradise, my paws are killing me" Kiara complained jokingly

"What! Why didn't you tell me? We could have stopped and..." And just like that, he was off

_Oh brother_ thought Kiara as she rolled her eyes _here he goes again_ and with a sigh Kiara sat down and listened to Kovu go on and on about how she's supposed to go easy on herself.

-TKL-

Vitani sat on top of the giant termite mound, thinking about nothing in particular. She liked the top of the termite termite mound, it gave her a luxurious view of the beautiful night sky. It was also one of the few places that could give her peace and quite.

Ever since her mothers death, Hakia and Vitani had been planning their revenge but Hakia seemed to become more obsessed everyday with killing Simba. It was almost as if Hakia's desire for revenge was the only thing keeping the older lioness going. Everyday Hakia would go on and on about how Simba needed to die. She described, in far too much detail for Vitani's taste, about how she was going to kill him. It was disgusting.

Yes at the beginning Vitani wanted to kill Simba, she still did, but her aunt was obsessed with it. Just like Zira was. No more obsessed than Zira was, far more.

That's why Vitani climbed to the top of the termite mound every night. To escape her aunts insane and obsessed rants. Being so far above the earth made Vitani feel free, of everything. Free of her aunt, her training, her stress, grief, pain and regret. She was away from it all. No one knew she came up. There were only three people who knew she came up here and they were all gone.

It was Nuka who showed her the secret tunnel up here. He had also shown Kovu as well. The three cubs had agreed not to tell anyone, especially their mother, how to get up here. The top of the Termite Mound was their secret place, their safe haven from their mother's rants and harsh training sessions. Unfortunately, Kovu was to young to understand the purpose of a secret and told their mother immediately. At first they thought their mother would only come up here to yell at them to train when they were tying to hide but she didn't. Instead she acted like a real mother should. When she was up their with them she would cuddle Kovu in her paws and Nuka and Vitani would lay beside her. When they were up on the Termite Mound they didn't talk about training or revenge. Instead Zira told them stories, stories that all cubs should hear growing up. Funny stories like how the giraffe got it's long neck, or how the zebra got it's stripes. Sometimes, their mother would even tell them stories about her beloved Scar.

But those days were gone now. Her mother and brother were dead and Kovu was a traitor. It was just her now, yes she had her aunt and her pride, but her aunt was practically crazy and her pride listened to Hakia more than they listened to Vitani. Never in her whole life had Vitani felt more alone.

**Finally finished! I know this chapter wasn't as long as chapter one but I've been a bit busy and I wanted to post one more chapter before I go away. You see for the last few days of the Easter Holidays my family are going to spend time at our farm house. I really love going out there but...there's no internet service so I won't be able to update for awhile. Sorry!**

**I'll make up for it though by making chapter three just as long as chapter 1 & 2 combined :)**

**Also thanks to ****_Keep Calm and Join Team Loki _****and ****_almondbutter_**** for being my first reviewers. And thanks to anyone else who read my work! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh dear lord I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry for taking so long to update! I have a very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, VERY valid reason for taking so long, of which I will explain at the end of the chapter. **

Chapter 3: Man

Kiara lay on her side, her head gently resting on her paws as she slowly breathed in the cool evening air. She rested beside her den, which was in fact a hollow Boab tree, while she soaked up the last few rays of sunshine before nightfall. Her stomach had become swollen, signalling she was nearing the end of her pregnancy. Never in her life had the golden lioness been so thrilled ….or so scared.

The thought of having children of her own made her feel so joyful and excited but the thought of having someone depending on her so much filled her with fear. She wanted to be a mother, she wanted to hold a cub of her very own, and she wanted to have a strong bond that one could only have with their cub. The bond she _had_ with her parents…

_They probably hate me now _though Kiara sadly as she shut her eyes tightly together. She refused to cry, she couldn't cry anymore. She had to learn to be strong for her cubs. Kiara could never think of her family without falling into grief. They loved her all so much and yet she had just simply tossed that love away and followed Kovu out of the Pridelands. She knew she could never go back, especially not now. If she did she would be seen as nothing but a selfish traitor. The fact that she was carrying Kovu's cub didn't help either, her father hated Kovu and would likely hate her cub just for being Kovu's offspring.

It was easy for the soon-to-be-mother to think up many horrifying scenarios of what might happen if she returned. Most of them consisted of Kovu being banished or killed and her cub being killed. She knew that deep down all of her fears where just fears and that her father would never do such a thing, yet there was still doubt. Kiara didn't want to risk losing Kovu or her cub.

But she didn't want to lose the bond she had with her family. Kiara was certainly stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not only was there a very high chance that she wouldn't be welcomed back at Pride Rock if she returned, there was also the factor that she would very likely lose Kovu if she did leave. Kovu loved their new life together, so did Kiara at first but now not so much.

They were both adolescents, still learning how to be a grown up and yet now they were both about to be parents. Kovu was always going on and on about how excited he was to be a parent but Kiara didn't think he was ready for it. He would spend most of his days running around, playing and occasionally hunting. Kiara actually found that most nights she went to bed quite hungry, what normally would have been enough meat for her was no longer satisfying her hunger. She knew it was because she was pregnant, she knew she should be eating more than what she was and be eating more often. But because she didn't know how to hunt (it didn't help that Kovu never let her go out and hunt for herself) and because Kovu refused to catch extra food for her, she couldn't.

Kiara shuddered when she remembered the first time she asked him to bring in extra food. She had never seen him so angry before, she had never seen _anyone _so angry before. He yelled at her for hours, he said that what he had given her was more than enough, that she was being greedy. He went on and on about how when he lived in the Outlands he practically starved every day. Kiara tried to explain that she needed the extra food for the cub but nothing could get through to him in his rage. He then went on about how she should be grateful that he even shared his kill.

It was frightening for Kiara, she had always thought that he would be a kind and understanding mate but in that one night he had completely changed. He was a different lion then and she didn't like it one bit.

Then that morning he had apologised for his bad temper and of course Kiara forgave him for it. She knew it was to do with the fact that he was raised in the Outlands, he barely got to have a scrap of meat back then and probably wasn't allowed to ask for more food. So of course it would have agitated him when a Pridelander asked him to get more food.

When she had explained that she needed the food because of the cub he had become even more apologetic. And of course, Kiara forgave him.

He had promised to make it up to her, he had left early this morning to track down some large prey. He had actually been gone all day, which was weird seeing as Kovu barely gave her a chance to herself.

_I shouldn't worry, Kovu knows how to take care of himself_ Kiara thought to herself.

Then she heard something that made her blood run cold and her heart stop beating.

Two gunshots…

…and a blood curling roar

_Kovu!_

-TLK-

Simba stood at the very tip of Pride Rock, his eyes scanning the savannah in search of only one thing. His daughter. She had been gone for months and there was no sign of her coming back. As soon as he was able to stand he went out looking for her, everyone did but they found no trace of her, no signs of which direction she had gone, no evidence of where she had went. The rain had washed away every scent and trail in the Pridelands.

Simba blamed his disappearance on himself. If he had just reconsidered Kovu's exile like she asked, or gone to talk to her after she yelled at him, maybe she wouldn't have left. If he had just done thing a little different she might not have ran away.

Simba let out a sigh as his eyes continued to scan his kingdom. Since the very day she was born Simba had tried to protect her from everything. His overprotectiveness often caused him to be scolded by Nala and caused Kiara to become very frustrated.

_Perhaps if I had just stood back a bit, let her have some freedom, she wouldn't have felt like she needed to run away _the lion monarch thought to himself.

Simba was willing to do anything to get Kiara back. He would sacrifice his life if that was necessary, all he wanted was for to come home where he knew she would be safe. He was even willing to forgive Kovu and the entire Ouland pride if it just meant she would come home.

He was the only one in the pride who hadn't accepted that she was gone. Everyone else had accepted that she had left and were trying to move on, even Nala but Simba couldn't. He knew if he let her go then she would truly be gone forever.

-TKL-

Kiara ran with all the strength her pregnant body would allow her to use. She only had one thought on her mind, Kovu. She knew humans were in the territory, only humans fired guns. She knew better than most animals that humans were dangerous, her overprotective father had made sure to educate her on the many dangers of humans. She knew they carried unusual shaped sticks called guns that spat bullets that could pierce an animal like lightning. They were dangerous and she was running strait towards them in a desperate attempt to reach her mate and make sure he was okay.

_Of course Kovu's going to be _alrightKiara reassured herself _he promised we'd be together forever_

"Oi! Lioness, don't go that way!" screeched a small bird above her "A lion just got shot back there!"

_WHAT!_

"What did this lion look like?" she asked although she was afraid to know the answer.

"Well he was brown….and had a black mane…" the bird said uncertainty, not sure if that was the answer the lioness wanted.

_I don't believe it….Kovu's gone!_

**Finally done, I know it's not 4k+ but I wanted to post something due to the frequent request I've been receiving.**

**Now my reason for taking so long to update**

**As you know I went to the farm house for the last few days of the holidays. I took my Ipad (which is what I use to write Sorry for Running) and I wrote up chapter 3. When I got back there was one day left of the holiday before I had to go to school so I tried to upload chapter 3 from the Ipad…..but it wouldn't work! I tried three times to upload chapter 3 but my ipad kept saying it had a bad connection. So I realised I would have to retype it on the computer, so I did. After I retyped I realised how horrible and sloppy it was so I decided to completely re write chapter 3.**

**There you go, theres my reason for taking so long.**

**Thank you to ****_Keep Calm and Join Team Loki, MidnightAuraKitty, Kitsune Turner, Guest and Mystery Guy._**** I really do enjoy your comments, they really light up my day!**

**Also, something important you guys should know, my updates WILL be irregular. I'm sorry I know it's really annoying when an author doesn't update frequently but I'm afraid life can get in the way sometimes.**


	4. Chapter 4

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_KOVU'S DEAD….._**

Those two words echoed around Kiara's head as she lay inside the boab tree. Never in her life had the young lion felt so empty, she thought that she and Kovu would be together forever. And now he was dead.

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_Kovu's dead….._**

Those two words were continuously swirling around the lionesses head. She couldn't believe it, he had just gone out to hunt and now he was gone.

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_Kovu's dead….._**

**_Kovu's dead….._**

_This is my fault _thought Kiara angrily _if I hadn't asked him to get more food, he would still be here!_

Kiara couldn't help but blame herself for what happened to her mate. If she hadn't of asked more of him, if she hadn't left the Pridelands with him, if she had never of met him, he would still be alive. There were so may if's, so many things that could have been different if she wasn't so selfish.

Right now Kiara wanted nothing more than to curl up and die, she wanted all the grief to go away. All she wanted to feel was the steady breathing of her mate beside her, all she wanted to hear was the constant rhythm of his beating heart, all she wanted to smell was his familiar and comforting sent, all she wanted to see was his beautiful emerald eyes. All she wanted was him. And she knew only her death could allow them to be together again.

But she couldn't die. Not now at least.

She had her cub to think of.

She had her cub that would never know the loving embrace of their father. She had a cub that would be solely dependent on her.

Never in Kiara's life had she had so much grief and responsibility resting on her shoulders.

-TLK-

Vitani sat in silence on the border of the Outlands trying, yet again, to escape her aunts rage rants. Hakia had become so...fixated... on revenge that she seemed have forgotten about her grieving niece. All the lionesses of the Outlands had sworn their loyalty to Hakia, even though Vitani was meant to be the next leader of the pride. Vitani couldn't help but feel as if her aunt didn't care for her, they rarely spoke and when they did it was all ways about revenge. The young Outlander was beginning to doubt her aunt's sanity and love.

Vitani was also beginning to doubt if she actually wanted to kill Simba. She knew it was his fault that Zira, Scar and Nuka were dead. And she did want him to feel the pain she felt when she lost all of them. But if she killed him, wouldn't that make her as bad as him? Wouldn't that make her a murderer too?

Vitani shook her head. Killing Simba wouldn't be murder, it would be justice.

At least that's what Zira had taught her.

Her mother had been so full of hate when she talked about Simba or any other Pridelander. So was Hakia, it was the one thing the two sisters had in common. Hate for Pridelanders but that was it, Hakia didn't yell at everyone to train like Zira had but she did expect them to swear loyalty to her. No one seemed to care who was in charge, it wouldn't have mattered, they would have followed anyone, the Outlanders were afraid to be leaderless.

Vitani sighed as she looked across the border towards the Pridelands, the sun had set and the moon had risen to the highest point in the sky, its light beaming down onto the Pridelands giving the grass a silvery colour. As much as she wanted revenge she knew deep down she could not kill Simba, or anyone precious to him for that matter. She was tired of hurting, tired of feeling constantly in grief. She knew the only way for all the pain to go away was to let it go. Let everything go. Her hate, her desire for revenge, everything, including her deceased loved ones. It was the only way she would be able to move on with her life.

"Aunty won't like this at all" murmured Vitani to herself "but I can't keep doing this!"

"Can't keep doing what?" asked the hissing voice of Hakia

-TLK-

Kiara walked tiredly across the savannah, she had been traveling since the sun had set in a desperate attempt to escape the territory that was crawling with men. She couldn't stay here if men were here. She couldn't live in a territory where she and her cub would have to hide and live in fear in. No one should have to live like that. Kiara found herself sad and afraid to be leaving the territory behind, while it was swarming with humans and was the place she lost her mate she knew she would miss it. How could she not? She was leaving the place that her mate had found, that he had taken care of her in, the place that she lost him... Leaving the territory meant leaving Kovu behind...Forever.

But she knew she had to for the sake of her unborn cub that would be entering the world any day now. She couldn't risk getting caught or killed, which is why she was traveling at night. She knew that the men, like any other animal, would be asleep during the darkest moment of the night, thus making it the safest way to travel. But that didn't mean she wasn't scared. She was petrified that the men would find her, that she would lose her life like her mate. She was afraid she would never get to see her cub if they caught her.

She was scared of other things too.

She was scared to face the big world by herself. When she had ran away with Kovu she thought that she would have him with her forever to help her overcome any obstacle. But now he was gone and she was left alone, alone to raise their cub. That scared her too, being a single parent to a cub who would rely solely dependent on her. Kiara didn't know how she was going to be a mother to this cub. She couldn't even feed herself let alone someone else.

Motherhood was going to be one obstacle that Kiara was going to have to tackle head on by herself.

**UGHHHHH! THIS CHAPTER WAS SOOOOOOOO HARD FOR ME TO WRITE!** **I know that sounds silly considering there's only 1,112 words but I just can't write about grief, depression ect because I'm such a happy person all the time. I don't know how to be sad...**

**Anyways sorry for the long wait, I just didn't know how to write about Kiara's depression and Vitani's change of heart.**

**THANKS TO:**

_**Keep Calm and Join Team Loki, Maua, DancingKitKat and Guest/Mystery Guy.**_

**Thanks for the comments they really light up my day! :)**

**Also special thanks to**_** DancingKitKat **_**for pointing out my grammar errors in chapter****1**


	5. Chapter 5

Kiara looked across the barren wasteland with a heavy heart. She had travelled for days, heading eastward out of the territory where her mate had been killed and for what? All that laid before her now was a dry barren desert, she couldn't see any green, shade or water. She saw nothing but yellow sand dunes and pure blue sky, not a cloud in sight, meaning it was unlikely to rain. But she had to cross it. She couldn't turn back now, she had travelled too long, too far to turn back now. Besides, who knows what's on the other side of the desert?

Taking a deep breath and holding her head up high Kiara ventured into the wasteland. She winced almost immediately when her paws came into contact with the burning golden sand but she trudged on knowing that the pain would go away...eventually. The golden lioness travelled for hours across the burning desert, under the beaming heat of the sun and with no rest or water.

"This... can't... be good... for... my health" panted Kiara tiredly to herself "or yours" she said looking at her overly swollen stomach. She knew she was due any day now, it was only a matter of time. She hoped she would be ready then, or at least found a new territory to call home. Kiara looked around the barren desert, there was nothing for her to drink, which is what she really needed now. There was nothing out her that could sustain her survival.

_Maybe this was a bad idea_ Kiara thought to herself, allowing doubt to creep into her mind. She didn't think the desert was this big, she thought she could cross it in a day but from the looks of things she could be traveling across it for weeks. She didn't have weeks though to cross this desert though, she needed a new home _now,_her cub could come any day now and if she birthed him or her in the desert he or she would surely die. She wouldn't be able to handle that, she couldn't lose her mate and cub, it would be too much for her to bear.

For a short moment Kiara thought about turning back but she then realised she couldn't. There was nothing for her back that way, just the pride she betrayed and the memories of her dead mate. No, the only way for her to move on was to leave them all behind, even if it hurt and it hurt a lot. Kiara continued to trek the sand dunes until eventually there was no sand left, just dry cracked earth. Although it was easier to travel on hard ground than rolling hills of sand, it was still as equally as dry. Even though this new part of the desert was different, it was also the same, there was no water, shade, food and the ground was just as hot as the sand. Not that Kiara could feel it anymore, her paws had gone numb a long time ago.

Kiara continued to walk eastward across the wasteland, hoping to find somewhere to rest. She was so tired, so thirsty but there was nothing she could do about it.

"This was a bad idea" thought Kiara aloud, she could die out here in this desert all because she was too stubborn, too afraid to turn back. Then something strange happened, Kiara started to feel sharp pains run up and down her stomach, at first she thought it was hunger pains but she then realised it was her cub.

_Of all the days the cub could have been born it had to be this one!_Groaned Kiara as her head swivelled from side to side as she tried to find somewhere, _anywhere_ that would shelter her while she birthed her cub. Then she saw a large cluster of rocks, maybe, just maybe the pile might do for a birthing den. Slowly Kiara waddled over to the rocks, walking was difficult for her, never in Kiara's life had she felt so much pain.

After what felt like hours Kiara finally reached the large rock cluster. Slowly Kiara circled the rock cluster until she found the overhang of a large granite rock. She lay down under the overhang, her breath was short and hard. The young lioness was exhausted and dehydrated, she doubted if she could really birth this cub.

-TLK-

Vitani slinked through the Outlands, making sure she didn't leave a trail for anyone to follow. She was leaving the Outlands, she couldn't stay there anymore not with how her aunt was ruling, no, dictating everyone. Her aunt cared less and less about her responsibility about ruling every day, every day she became greedier, selfish and more obsessed with revenge. Hakia was constantly rambling on and on about her hate for all Pridelanders, she wanted to kill them all and everyone agreed with her. It was strange, to Vitani it seemed like Hakia had brainwashed the Outlanders into wanting to kill the Pridelanders. When Zira was Queen the only one she wanted to kill was Simba, the rest of the Pridelanders would just be exiled. But Hakia seemed to enjoy the idea of bloodshed.

Every day was the same for Vitani, she had to train hard and endure her aunt's rants and abuse. Hakia had literally decided to use Vitani as a punching bag since the day Vitani decided she wanted to stop fighting. Apparently she was weak and unworthy to be a part of the Outlander pride. So Vitani decided she would leave, she refused to be a part of a pride that would abuse her. Vitani felt sad about leaving her home and family but she knew it was for the best.

-TLK-

Kiara let out a sigh of relief she had been in labour for hours, she never thought cub birth would take so long or be so horrifically painful. Kiara sighed as she sat up, feeling very lightheaded from a lack of food and water she slowly turned her head so she could see her cub. But what she saw shocked her.

Kiara thought she would only have to care for one cub but as life would have it, she was now going to care for four

**SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORY! I'm soooooo sorry for taking forever! Jeeze I'm just terrible at this whole updating on time business. I'm not going to explain why I took so long because it doesn't really matter.**

**THANKS TO:**

_**Keep Calm and Join Team Loki and Guest**  
_

**Also, sorry to _KitsuneTurner,_ I forgot to ad you to my thank you list, sorry, but thanks for the review on chapter 3! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Kiara looked down at her cubs adoringly as they nuzzled at her stomach trying to suckle on the little milk their mother had to give. She couldn't believe that she had birthed four cubs. She had never heard of a lioness birthing this many cubs before. Having twins was rare for lion and yet she had twice as many. In a way, Kiara felt incredibly proud to birth four cubs but she also felt incredibly afraid. How could she raise four cubs on her own, how was she going to get them out of this desert? There were so many things for the young mother to worry about. From beside her she heard one of her cubs mew for her attention, almost as if he was trying to say _worry about it later, pay attention to me_

Kiara smiled down at her four beautiful cubs "I promise you four, that I'll do everything I can to protect you" Kiara swore to her off springs "I'll never let anything hurt you, my little ones" she said as she nuzzled all of them which caused them all to squeal with delight. Kiara loved all of her children, she loved how they all had traits of Kovu, except for one. Her last born.

Her last born cub was a female and Kiara had named her Kamadia, which means moon. It was a suitable name considering that the cub was pure white, like the moon. Kamadia had no markings either, she was just white and it left Kiara wondering how her daughter had gained the unusual pelt colour. Despite the cub's odd colouring, Kiara still loved her newly born daughter, although she feared Kamadia might not even last through the night. The white lion was the smallest of all the cubs and certainly not as strong as her siblings. But still Kiara held hope for her daughter's survival, white lions after all are considered to be omens of good luck. Perhaps this cub's birth was a sign that things would start to get better.

Her third born cub was also a girl, this cub looked more like Kiara than anything. She had Kiara's pelt colour and her father's eyes. The cub also a brown stripe that ran from her forehead down to her middle back. Just like Zira did, although Kiara was sure that this cub would be nothing like Zira, she would make sure of it. Kiara decided to name her golden coloured cub Rehema.

Her second born cub, also a girl, was a bit odd appearance wise. She had her father's dark brown colouring but she also had light brown freckles on her paws, stomach and forehead. She was almost spotted like a cheetah or a leopard but to Kiara she was far more beautiful than all of those spotted animals. And if Kovu could see her he would think the same thing. Kiara named her Adanna.

Kiara's first born was a boy, her only boy. His pelt colour was a few shades darker than Kiara's, no doubt a blend of her's and Kovu's pelt colours, and he already had a small black tuft of mane on his head. Kiara named him Bahati.

Kiara loved all her cubs very much. She couldn't bear the thought of losing one of them, but deep down, Kiara feared that she would. After all how could she get them out of the barren desert?

-TLK-

Vitani sprinted across the border of the Pridelands as quickly as she could. She knew crossing Pridelander territory was risky but she couldn't go any other way, a part from the Pridelands, nothing but desert surrounded the Outlands. She knew she would have no chance surviving in a desert, only an idiot would try to take their chances out there.

It didn't take her long to get a good distance from both the Pridelands and the Outlands. Vitani couldn't help but let out a cry of relief as she ran, finally she could leave all the hate and revenge behind her, she could move past this dark part of her life and look towards the future. A future fan, far, far away from her past.

Vitani planned on running with no break until the sun set over the horizon to ensure that she was far enough away from the prides. She knew she could do it, one of the benefits of being an Outsider was that she was taught to run long distances nonstop.

-TLK-

Hakia paced back and forth furiously. The lioness was fuming and clearly upset about something.

_How dare she!_Seethed Hakia _after all I've done for her she still betrays me!_

Her niece had left early in the morning while the pride slept. Hakia had no idea where the traitor had gone but she swore to herself that if she ever found out, she would make her suffer like all traitors should.

-TLK-

Vitani panted as she slowed down, running such a long distance had taken a lot more out of her than she thought it would. Vitani should have known that she wouldn't be able to travel as far as she used to, her aunt was lazy and never encouraged anyone to train like Zira did, so Vitani was a bit out of shape. But the distance she made was good. She was far away from her hateful pride and could finally move on.

Vitani took in a deep breath and prepared to continue walking, there was still a lot of day left, she might as well continue her journey.

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you"

Vitani looked up to where the voice had come from. At first she couldn't work out who spoke to her until she saw a small bird resting in a tree.

"And why not?" She asked curiously as she looked up at the bird. Vitani hadn't eaten in days and the bird looked fat and tasty.

"Well, believe it or not, I saw a lion get killed by hunters in that direction" rambled the bird

"Uh-huh, really" nodded Vitani as she placed her front paws on the trunk of the tree the bird was resting on. This would be an easy meal.

"Oh yeah, it was a big black lion and it must of been pretty tough 'cause it had a scar over its eye" rambled the bird "I mean it was a nasty scar, looked pretty recent too"

Vitani stared up at the bird with wide eyes, she knew he was talking about Kovu, it has to be Kovu.

"Was this lion traveling with anyone?" She asked

"Um" the bird hummed thoughtfully "yes a golden coloured lioness actually, heavily pregnant too. Poor girl"

_Kiara's pregnant! With Kovu's cub!_

"Where is this lioness?" Asked Vitani, practically pleading with the bird she thought of eating not long ago.

"Um, I'm not entirely sure but she was heading east last time I saw her"

That was all the information Vitani needed. Within seconds of the bird finishing its sentence Vitani took off eastwards. She had no idea why but she felt compelled to seek Kiara out. She felt as if it was her responsibility to help Kiara raise her cubs since Kovu could not.

Maybe this was what she needed to start over.

**MEANINGS:**

**Adanna- Father's daughter**

**Bahati- Good fortune**

**Kamadia- Moon**

**Rehema- Merciful**

**Tell me what you think of the cubs names**

**THANKS TO:**

_**Maua, KitsuneTurner and Teddi 8347**_


	7. Chapter 7

**Decided to do my A/N first today!**

**THANKS TO:**

_**Keep Calm and Join Team Loki, Teddi 8347, KitsuneTurner, Just a Reader, DancingKitKat, MidnightAuraKitty, Emolichic1 and Guest**_

**Also:**

_**Teddi 8347, **_**I'm glad you saw that, I was hoping at least ****_one_**** reviewer would notice that. Yes Zira isn't Kovu's biological mother so Rehema ****_didn't _****inherit her stripe from Zira. Only Kiara doesn't know Zira isn't Kovu's mother so of course she's going to assume that her daughter got the trait from Zira. So don't worry, it isn't an error, I've purposely done that.**

_**MidnightAuraKitty: **_**I know the meaning of the names because I got them from the website 20000 names. It's a great website full of names from different countries from all over the world and their meanings :)**

Kiara looked down at her cubs with sad eyes as they nuzzled at her stomach. They wanted milk, no they _needed_ milk but she had none to give them. They were only a day old and Kiara was beginning to fear that her cubs wouldn't live to see the next day. She needed to make milk to feed them but in order for that to be possible she would need to feed herself. But there was no food out in the barren desert, not even water. Kiara sighed as she looked out past the overhang at the hard, dry cracked ground feeling hope of survival dimming within each second. If she lost her cubs, Kiara knew she would just give up, give up on everything. There would be no point in living if she had nothing worth living for.

From her side she heard a small mew from Rehema that made Kiara return her attention back to her children. Rehema was looking up at her mother with her big pleading emerald eyes that she had inherited from her father. The cub mewed again, practically begging Kiara to feed her, which only caused Kiara to sob.

"Oh, Rehema, I'm so sorry" Kiara sobbed as she nuzzled her cub "I promised I would look after you, and I have failed, I'm so, so sorry" Kiara continued to sob as she laid her head down beside her cubs. Rehema continued to mew and nuzzle her mother and Kiara couldn't help but sadly smile. Rehema may only be a day old but she was far ahead of her siblings. Only a few short hours after birth Rehema had opened her eyes, her brother and sisters were yet to reach that stage. In away Rehema was like Simba was when he was a cub. Always in a hurry.

"Oh thank the Great Kings of the Past, I finally Found you!" exclaimed a raspy voice which caused Kiara's head to bolt up from beside her cubs and look at who had spoken. When Kiara saw who it was she couldn't be more shocked, standing before her was none other than Vitani. Kovu's sister.

"Vitani! Wha-What are you doing here!?" asked Kiara nervously. Kiara knew that the lioness that stood before her was solely loyal to Zira. Had Zira sent Vitani to kill her and Kovu because they ran away?

"I should ask you the same question! What in the name of the Kings are you doing in the middle of the desert! What were you thinking?" Vitani was practically yelling at Kiara but her voice was laced with concern, which only lead to confuse Kiara more.

_How did she find me? And why is she so worried? We're not even friends!_

"How did you find me?" asked Kiara, trying her best to sound somewhat intimidating, just in case Vitani meant her and her children harm.

"A little birdy with a big mouth told me" smirked Vitani but then her face turned full of sorrow "is it true? Is Kovu dead?"

Kiara looked down at the hard ground beneath her, squeezing her eyes shut as she tried to keep the tears that threatened to fall from showing. She would not cry, she was the mother of four cubs now, and she needed to be strong for them.

"Yes, he is" was all Kiara was able to say.

"So, they're his cubs" she asked gently, nodding towards the four cubs that were snuggled up together against Kiara's stomach.

"Yes" Kiara said proudly with a soft smile "Adana, Bahati, Rehema and Kamadia"

"Wow, you certainly have your paws full with those four" stated Vitani thoughtfully before she turned around and left the overhang. Leaving Kiara confused and wondering where she had gone to.

-TLK-

Hakia sat at the border of the Outlands waiting for Myra and Thea to return from scouting the Pridelands. Hakia had sent the two lionesses to scour the Prideland and refused to allow them to return until they bought her some useful information. Ten Hakia heard something that made her ears perk, it was the sound of wing beats but...something was off about these wing beats.

"Queen Hakia" said Myra, a young clouded grey lioness said respectfully as she bowed her head "my sister and I have found something, rather _someone_who can help us find the traitor Vitani" continued the lioness as she nodded towards another lioness (Thea) whose pelt colour was a few shades darker than Myra's, and had a small bird helplessly struggling in the lioness' mouth.

_Well, that explains the wing beats_thought Hakia as she rolled her eyes. How was this bird supposed to help her? Just then, Thea spat the bird out of her mouth and the young bird fell to the ground fell to the ground with a thud. Acting quickly, Myra placed her paw on the bird's tail feathers to keep it from flying way. The bird looked up at his captors with fear overly evident in his eyes.

"Now, now little birdy" said Myra in a voice that was a mixture of soothing and terrifying "tell our queen exactly what you told us about the lioness you saw the other day"

The bird looked up at the three lionesses and gulped before he went off on a ramble about everything he knew. Including that Vitani had gone looking for a pregnant golden lioness who was impregnated by a black lion with a scar over his eye.

Hakia listened to everything the bird had to say with a wide smile on her face. Finally she could start enacting her plan for her revenge on Simba and get even with her traitorous niece.

"Tell me again, little bird" cooed Hakia "which way did she go?"

"Ea-East" stammered the bird, not liking the situation one bit. Hakia looked at Thea and Myra with an Evil smile before she said:

"Eat him"

"What! But I told you everything you wanted to know" squawked the bird as he struggled against Myra's grip on his tail feathers.

"True you did. Bu I never promised anything, did I" sneered Hakia as she walked away. Allowing the twin lionesses to enjoy their meal.

-TLK-

Kiara's ears perked up as she heard the sound of paws padding towards the overhang. She had a feeling it was Vitani but she had no idea why Vitani would even bother returning, after all, she was under no obligation to stay. Just then Vitani appeared from around the overhang of the rock with a dead baby Bushbuck in her mouth. Vitani dragged the calf forward and laid it down beside Kiara.

"You should eat" Vitani said softly "unless of course you don't really care if they make it through the night" continued the lioness when she saw that Kiara wasn't eating.

"Why are you helping me" asked Kiara suspiciously, neither lionesses knew much about each other so of course Kiara was hesitant to trust the Outsider.

"Because for once in my life I'd like to know that I'm doing the right thing" Vitani said as she stared at the ground, almost as if she was ashamed for admitting that "my whole life I was raised to hate you and your pride but after mother died-"

"Zira's dead?" Kiara asked shocked. Vitani's only response was a sad nod "did, did my father kill her?"

"Yes, but now that I think about it, he didn't have a choice. My mother was so filled of hatred and just couldn't let it go" Vitani said sadly "and that's partly why I left, I didn't want to fight and hate everyone anymore"

"What was the other part" asked Kiara gently, almost afraid to know.

"My aunt, Hakia, is a tyrant. And all of the Outlanders follow her like a dog on a leash" spat Vitani venomously "so, are you going to eat or not?" asked Vitani as she gestured towards the dead Bushbuck with her muzzle.

Kiara looked at Vitani for a moment before coming to the conclusion that she was Trustworthy before tucking into the dead calf. And just like that, a huge weight was lifted from Kiara's shoulders. Finally, she wasn't in this alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello! I'm BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!**

**Now, I have some good and bad news… My exams are coming up and I won't be able to update for a while until they're over. Believe me I'm as disappointed as you guys but I promise that on the weekend that the exams finish I WILL make an update!**

**Now for the good news:**

**I finished chapter eight!**

Vitani looked across the desert, her eyes scanning the horizon as she watched the sunset over the sand dunes. It was time. Standing up, Vitani walked over to where Kiara and her four cubs were sleeping. The golden lioness hadn't done much but sleep since Vitani had arrived but that was understandable since Kiara hadn't had anything to drink in days and was very dehydrated. Which is why Vitani had come to the conclusion that they needed to leave the desert. There was no possible way that they could live out there. Kiara was a bit uncertain about leaving the shelter of the overhang, not because she was attached to the place but because she didn't understand how they would be able to transport four cubs at once. Kiara refused to leave any behind and make two trips but Vitani had assured her that the cubs would be able to ride on the lionesses backs. She hopped. Both lionesses agreed it would be safer to travel after sunset, there would be less heat and less predators making it the best time to travel with cubs.

As Vitani padded over to Kiara she saw all four of the cubs look at her with their big round eyes which made Vitani smile, something that she hadn't done for a while. Kiara's cubs had beautiful eyes; Kamadia had Nala's eyes, Rehema inherited her eyes from Kovu and Adanna and Bahati had inherited the eye colour commonly found in Pridelander lions. Adanna, Kamadia and Bahati had only recently opened their eyes; when Vitani arrived the only cub with their eyes open was Rehema which was strange. In fact, Rehema confused Vitani the most. The young cub had a stripe that ran from her for head down to her shoulders like Zira did but Zira was not Kovu's biological mother, so who did Rehema inherit the stripe from?

Vitani shook her head aggressively, it didn't matter what heritage the cubs had, all that mattered was getting out of the desert before sunrise. The two lionesses decided to keep heading east, away from the Pridelands and Outlands, besides, not far east from the overhang was grassland, which is where Vitani caught the baby Bushbuck.

"Kiara" Vitani whispered softly, trying not to startle the cubs who had returned to sleep "come on, we got go"

Kiara's only response was a drowsy nod as she stumbled to her feet. Despite the fact that it was easier to travel by night, Vitani knew this short journey would be difficult for Kiara. The young lioness was overly dehydrated from living in the desert and still suffering from exhaustion from her recent cub birth because she had eaten very little and the food that she did eat got turned into milk for her cubs.

Slowly, once Kiara was on her feet, Vitani placed Bahati on the golden lioness' back before placing Adanna on her own. Then, Vitani picked up Rehema and Kiara picked up Kamadia before the two lionesses left the overhang of the rock and headed eastward.

-TLK-

Hakia paced impatiently at the entrance of the den while she waited for Myra and Thea to return. There was a reason behind letting those two particular lionesses eat that bird. Those two were the strongest out of all of the Outlanders, so Hakia knew fully well that, with their full strength, they would be able to handle Kiara and Vitani. Which is why she was so willing to let _them_eat instead of her. She was going to send those two lionesses to kill Kiara and Vitani. Just then Hakia heard Thea and Myra returning, they walked slowly with their heads down, like they had done something that they were greatly ashamed of.

"There you two are! Do you have any idea how long I have been waiting for you? I mean how long does it take you to eat on damn bird?!" Growled Hakia but then she noticed the lionesses ashamed stances and a thought struck her "you didn't let it go did you?"

"No! Of course we didn't my Queen" exclaimed Myra defensively as her head shot up. The young lioness knew better than to get on the bad side of the pride's new monarch. Myra's answer caused Hakia to sigh with relief; if they let that bird go and the bird blabbed to the whole Pridelands about Kiara and Vitani's location then Simba would surely catch wind of it. Hakia couldn't risk Simba finding Kiara before she did, if he did, it would make her plan or revenge a lot more difficult.

"Good" said Hakia giving Myra and Thea a curt nod of approval "now, there's something I need you two to do for me"

The two sisters shared an uncertain glance at one another. Surely this couldn't be good...

"I need you to head east and track down Vitani and Kiara...and kill them both"

The two sisters looked at each other and then their queen in shock. They couldn't believe that Hakia had given them orders to kill Vitani, Hakia's niece and technically the true leader of the Outlanders.

"Bu-But my queen, how do you know the two lionesses will be together?" asked Thea

"Why else would the traitor head eastward?" Hakia growled, angry that she was being questioned.

"But, what if Vitani headed eastward to try and kill Kiara herself so she could earn your approval?" asked Myra "what do we do then?"

Hakia thought of what Myra had said, although she thought it was unlikely, she decided that she could forgive Vitani for running away if she ran away for revenge.

"If that is true, you may spare Vitani _but_ under no circumstances do you spare Kiara"

"Of course my Queen" said Myra, bowing respectfully as she turned to leave.

"Wait!" exclaimed Thea which cause Hakia to growl. The Outlander's Queen had already had enough of the short conversation.

"What if the cubs have already been birthed?" asked Thea

"Kill them too. They have the blood of the murder Simba in them, they are NOT worthy of life" was all Hakia said before she turned and entered the den. The two sisters looked at each other with astonished faces before heading into the den after their queen. Both of them were thinking the same thing:

What made Hakia so cruel that she would be willing to kill her own blood and innocent cubs?

**THANKS TO:**

_**DancingKitKat, Keep Calm and Join Team Loki, LionLover23, Teddi23, Dark is Walkin' the Green Mile and Guest**_


	9. Chapter 9

**FINALLY! Exams are OVER! Phew...**

**Well, here is chapter 9, hope you guys enjoy it!**

Kiara lay on the ground under the shade of a Mopane tree, Vitani and her had reached the end of the desert by sunrise and had since then been enjoying the water and food the land had to offer and now they were resting. Or were trying to rest. Kiara's cubs, while only being a few days old were full of energy and even though they couldn't do much but roll around, they sure made a lot of noise. It was hard for the lionesses to get a moment of silence, it felt like every minute of the day the cubs were making a crying like sound for something. Kiara had tried everything, she tried getting them to nurse but they refused, she gave them all some attention and affection (which was hard for her because there were four of them) but nothing was working. The cubs continued to mew, cry and whine, they wanted something but Kiara couldn't figure out what.

Opposite of her, Vitani let out a low agitated growl. The Outlander had never been good with cubs and so since she joined Kiara she had been trying to avoid them as much as possible, she didn't want to risk making them upset. Kiara had enough trouble as it was, Vitani figured the last thing the ex princess needed was a lioness upsetting her cubs. Although, they already seemed pretty upset now anyway...

"Are you sure there's nothing you can do to make them be quite?" asked Vitani, trying very hard to mask her irritation of the cubs noise as she covered her ears with her paws.

"I don't know what to do Vitani" Kiara said weakly "they won't nurse, they won't sleep and certainly don't want my attention" the golden lioness was visibly upset. Understandable considering she couldn't work out what her children wanted.

_Why are they making so much noise? Are they sick? _and just like that Kiara's mind was racing with worry. But then she noticed something, her cubs weren't making their 'cry-like' noises at her, they were making them at _Vitani_. Kiara felt a wave of relief rush over her, her cubs weren't sick or hungry, they just wanted attention from the lioness who had given them none. But that made Kiara wonder why didn't Vitani give the cubs any attention, she was after all their auntie.

"Hey, Vitani. Come over here for a moment" Kiara requested softly as flicked her head to the left, gesturing for Vitani to come over. Vitani cautiously walked over to Kiara, not sure of what the golden lioness wanted of her.

"Oh come on they don't bite" Kiara said playfully when she saw Vitani become stiff at the sight of the cubs. Just then Vitani realised what Kiara was suggesting.

"Oh no, no way in he-"

"Please Vitani, just try!" pleaded Kiara "they're just curious about you because you never spend any time with them"

"I don't spend time with them because I'm horrible with cubs" Vitani said before she decided she needed to elaborate on her point when she saw the questioning look on Kiara's face "I just...I don't know how to handle cubs..."

"That makes two of us" Kiara said, reminding Vitani that she was knew to raising cubs as well "but I can guarantee that you're not going to learn if you keep avoiding them"

Vitani sighed, she knew that Kiara was right. She needed to learn how to handle cubs after all, she was going to be stuck with them for a long time.

-TLK-

Myra and Thea looked across the barren desert with great concern. They had been sent by Hakia at dawn to seek Kiara an Vitani out and while the two lionesses hadn't been able to follow Kiara's trail, they were able to follow Vitani's because it was fresher.

"We must of got it wrong" said Thea as she looked away from the barren desert and at her sister "Vitani isn't stupid enough to venture into a desert she's never been into before. She wouldn't do that...Would she?

"I guess she would" replied Myra as she walked out into the desert, only to be stopped by her sister grabbing her rump and pulling her back.

"Are you out of your mind!" exclaimed Thea

"What do you mean? We have to go in there, we can't return to the Outlands until our mission is complete"

"I ain't riskin' my hide to look for a traitor and princess who are probably already dead" said Thea "I mean, chances of survival out there is like what? One in a million?"

"So what? We return and tell our queen that we were to cowardly to cross a desert?" argued Myra

"No we lie. We say we found them and killed them" retorted Thea.

"But our queen demanded that we bring her evidence of Kiara's death so she could use it to torment Simba" countered Myra

"We can figure that part out later...Besides, I-I really don't want to kill Vitani" admitted Thea "and I don't think you do either"

"So what do we do?" asked Myra helplessly. Her sister was right, she didn't want to kill Vitani. She was even unsure if she wanted to kill Kiara and her cubs.

Just then from behind the two lionesses heard a rustling in the bush behind them. They slowly stalked over to the bush and peeked over the top. There lying in a clump of dried leaves was a young Bushbuck.

"I think I've found the solution to our evidence situation" hinted Thea.

Myra was able to give her sister a questioning look before Thea leaped at the Bushbuck.

-TLK-

Vitani let out a sigh as enjoying the silence that surrounded her. Kiara was right, the cubs had just wanted to know her, after a quick sniff of Vitani and chewing on her ears and tuft a bit they decided that she wan't that interesting and had started to nurse from their mother before going to sleep. She had to admit though, that she quite enjoyed spending time with the cubs. They were so adorable, she was finally able to really understand how much Kiara loved them. Infact, Vitani actuallt felt a bit disappointed when the cubs had lost interest in her.

_Well, tomorrow I'll just make myself more interesting _Thought Vitani as she lay down and closed her eyes and had a long deserved nap.

-TLK-

Myra and Thea licked their lips clean of blood once they had finished eating the Bushbuck. They had left nothing to go to waste, nothing except the heart of the Bushbuck, it was to be their 'evidence' of Kiara's death.

"Are you sure this will work Thea?" asked Myra uncertainly.

"Of course it will!" said Thea confidently

"But- I don't know- does this even looks like a lion's heart, I've never seen one before" Myra said, still uncertain of her sister's plan.

"And I doubt Hakia has either, I mean if she hasn't seen one, how will she know that this isn't one?" said Thea triumphantly, gaining even more confidence in her own plan.

"Yeah but how do we know Hakia hasn't had Bushbuck before" countered Myra.

"Good point but I find it unlikely, I mean we live in the Outlands and the only 'prey' out there is termites" pointed out Thea "look, I know you don't like the idea but I don't want to kill Vitani and innocent cubs. We're better than that Myra"

All Myra did was nod before picking up the Bushbuck heart and heading back to the Outlands with her sister in tow.

**THANKS TO:**

_**DancingKitKat, Teddi, LionLover23, Desray95 and Guest**_

**Also,**

**GUEST: ****I'm sorry that my use of the word d.a.m.n in the previous chapter made you upset. I really am sorry. BUT I will not remove it from this fanfiction and should I chose to use it again, I will. I am really sorry if this offends you but I do not register damn as a bad or swear word. I understand that you are christian and believe that such a word shouldn't ever be used but please understand that I am not christian and I don't have the same values and morals as you. And may I remind you that this fanfic is rated T so it is allowed to and _will_ contain minor coarse language. I'm sorry that my use of words goes against your beliefs but please understand that it doesn't go against mine.**

**Also I just realised I never did this in any of my previous chapters but:**

**I DON'T OWN LION KING!**

**Phew, glad I've got that done now.**

**Please read and review.**


	10. Chapter 10

Hakia sat impatiently as she waited for Myra and Thea to return. The lioness had been waiting for the pair to return for days and her patience was running low. Patience was Hakia's worst enemy, if she ever wanted something, she wanted it yesterday.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Yesterday.

Hakia lacked patience with anything, it was one of the many things that made her different to Zira. Zira had waited years to enact her plan of revenge, Hakia on the other hand couldn't wait any longer. She needed revenge now, she needed Simba dead _now _she wanted to rule the Pridelands _now. _But even then now was never soon enough, nothing ever would be soon enough for the crazed lioness._  
_

"Your majesty?" came a soft voice from behind Hakia, causing the lioness to whirl 'round to see who was speaking to her. Behind Hakia stood Kala, a young two year old brown lioness who had been born during the end of Scar's reign. Kala had been bought to the Outlands as a cub by her mother and had since then been loyal to the Outlander pride.

"What is it!" Hakia snapped, she was in no mood to see anyone apart from Myra and Thea.

"I-We-I mean-" stuttered the young lioness, Kala had always harbored fear for Hakia, even before she became queen. Kala could just sense a deep amount of darkness inside the new queen.

"Well? Come on! Out with it!"

"The lionesses you sent out a few days ago are at the Prideland border!" squeaked Kala as she shrunk back at the sound of Hakia's booming voice. Just like that, Hakia's eyes lit up like Christmas tree. _Finally _someone had bought her the news she wanted _now. _Before Kala could say anything else Hakia took off like a rocket heading for the border.

-TLK-

Vitani laughed helplessly as she watched Kiara's young cubs. The cubs had started to learn how to sit up a few days ago and for Vitani there was nothing as adorable or humorous than cubs who were learning how to control their balance and keep their heads up. The four cubs were spending a majority of the time they spent awake trying to keep their heads up. It was hilarious. First they would just lie down on their tummies (which had grown incredibly chubby after Kiara was able to produce constant food for them), then their back legs would just pop up leaving their unbalanced rear ends waving around in the air. After much struggling they would manage to slowly raise their front legs up...but left their heads stuck flat against the ground in an awkward position. It almost looked as if their heads were permanently glued to the earth. Then, after much struggling, their heads rose up to be leave with the their shoulders...and the cubs would stand for about five seconds before their legs failed them and collapsed. Leaving them were they had started off, on their chubby tummies.

Vitani found herself at the adorable sight of the cubs trying to stand; as cute as it was seeing them act like this she knew it was a clear sign that they were growing up. All too fast for her and Kiara's taste. Vitani found that she was actually quite surprised with how quickly the cubs were growing up, she didn't think that they would mature so quickly. Then again she didn't know much about cubs, neither did Kiara. No cubs had ever been born for the Outlander pride since Scar's death and Kiara was the only cub in the Pridelands. They didn't know anything about how to raise a cub. And they were stuck with raising four. No, 'stuck' wasn't the right word to use. Blessed seem more appropriate. In the short amount of time the Vitani had known these cubs that had bought her a lot of joy despite the fact that she was in no way biologically related to them.

_I guess blood doesn't make a family_ thought Vitani happily as she gently picked up Kamadia and placed the cub in her paws, the white cub had quickly grown tired of trying to stand. Understandable considering that she was the runt. No blood certainly didn't make a family, love did and Vitani loved these cubs more than she had ever loved anything before. Even Kiara was growing on the young Outlander. Vitani had been raised to believe that Kiara was a spoilt brat that didn't deserve anything she got in life. And while Vitani had to admit Kiara did have a spoilt upbringing, the golden lioness certainly didn't _act _spoilt. In fact she was nothing like Zira said she was, she wasn't greedy and was always thankful for what ever food Vitani caught her. In fact Kiara had yet to give Vitani a reason to hate her.

All the goodness that Vitani saw in Kiara made her realise that maybe the Pridelanders weren't that bad after all. After all, if the Pridelanders were as evil as Zira had said they were, why wasn't Kiara? The only logical explanation was that Pridelanders were actually decent lions. It was this change of vie on the Pridelander that made Vitani grateful that she had chosen to walk away from all the hate between the two prides. She didn't want to betray her pride that she considered family and she didn't want to kill innocent lions.

-TLK-

Myra and Thea looked at each other nervously as they saw Hakia bounding toward them at an unbelievable speed. Their hearts were racing, a million beats a minute was what it felt like for the two grey lionesses. The closer Hakia came,the more nervous the twins became.

_What if Hakia realised that their 'evidence' was a Bushbuck heart and not Kiara's?_

_What would she do to them if she found out?  
_

_Would they be exiled?_

_Executed__?_

There was no defiant answer for what their punishment would be if Hakia ever found them out. The only guarantee would be that it would be painful. But it was too late for them to back out now. Hakia was standing face to face with them.

"Well?" panted Hakia as she looked at the lionesses expectantly "did you find them?"

"Ah, well, we found Kiara but there was no trace of Vitani" said Myra quickly, the twins agreed to say that they didn't find Vitani encase she returned to the pride. And if they said they had killed her and she returned then Hakia would put two and two together and figure out that Thea and Myra lied to her.

"Ah what a pity" said Hakia remorsefully which caused Thea and Myra to shudder. Why was their queen so eager to kill her own niece?

"We found Kiara and killed her...her cubs were not yet born" Thea said, trying to drag the conversation away from killing Vitani and revealed 'Kiara's heart' "we thought that this would suffice as evidence of Kiara's death"

"The princesses heart" smirked Hakia as she moved forward to sniff the Bushbuck heart. Hakia was so engrossed with investigating the evidence that she didn't notice the sisters cringe slightly out of fear. If Hakia figured out that they were lying, they were dead meat. Finally Hakia stepped away from the heart and gave Thea and Myra an approving nod. Mentally, both lionesses let out a sigh of relief. Hakia didn't know, and hopefully never would know, that the heart belonged to a Bushbuck.

-TLK-

Kiara walked away from the open grasslands toward a dense thicket like nest that she and Vitani had chosen to be a temporary den. Kiara had left Vitani in charge of watching the cubs so she could get a quick drink. As the ex princess returned to the thicket den she heard the sound of laughter and squeaks of amusement which cause Kiara to smile. Ever since Vitani had joined her life had become easier for all of them. In away, Vitani filled the position that Kovu had promised to fill. Vitani hunted for them and kept pushing Kiara over countless hurdles. In the short time that the two lionesses had known each other, Kiara considered Vitani to be her big sister.

As Kiara entered the den she was greeted with an adorable scene and squeals of delight. Vitani was laying on the floor with Kamadia between her paws while Adanna, Rehema and Bahati struggled to stand on all fours. As soon as the cubs noticed their mother that let out even more squeals and tried desperately to hobble towards her which only resulted with them slipping helplessly onto their stomachs. Kiara let out a small chuckle before moving a closer distance to her cubs and lay down. She then proceeded to pick them up and place them at her stomach so they could nurse. Vitani, seeing that it was nursing time picked Kamadia up and placed her beside Kiara's stomach.

"Thank you Vitani" said Kiara gratefully

"I was only babysitting" shrugged Vitani, it really wasn't a big deal for her. She enjoyed doing it there for it wasn't really work.

"I'm not just talking about the babysitting" sighed Kiara "ever since you found us you've taken care of us even though your under no obligation to do such things and for that I am for ever grateful because I know if you hadn't shown up they would have died"continued Kiara as she gestured toward her happily nursing cubs with her muzzle "and if they did...I would have wanted to die, so thank you"

Vitani wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Until today she never really felt like anyone appreciated her. Her mother only seemed to have eyes for Kovu, Hakia treated her like a punching bag and Nuka (while he was alive) only ever tried to impress mother. But to Kiara, Vitani was her savior and the young Outlander like that for the fact that she was appreciated.

**Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, GOSH!**

**I AM SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THIS RIDICULOUSLY LONG WAIT!**

**Basically, homework, assignments, debates ect. You know regular school stuff and life got in the way of my updates. Sorry! I'll try not to let it happen again :)**

**THANKS TO:**

_**DancingKitKat, Emolichic1, Asaf, MidnightAuraKitty, cora shadowcat, Guest **_**and**_** all the shattered pieces**_

**Thank you so much for your reviews! :)**

**GUEST: Okay, first of all I am NOT IN ANYWAY OFFENDED BY ANYTHING YOU SAID. It takes a lot to offend me so hopefully there's no hard feelings right? I'm not purposely avoiding updating to annoy you, life is just getting in the way. Now my second point is I am trying to ask you in the most respectful way possible to limit your reviews. This story has 79 reviews (so far) and 40 of them are yours...so if you could just tone it down a touch and try to keep the reviews about your opinions of the chapter that would be much appreciated :)****  
**

**ALSO:**

**I apologise for any grammatical errors, I wrote this at 10:25 pm and I am so tired after an exhausting day at school. Sot to all my readers, I bid you a good night! Unless you live in America where it is morning! I on the other hand am an Aussie with a big day at school to tomorrow...*_sigh_***


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